On the eve of a judge’s ruling, attorneys find key evidence tucked away in the files of the opposing side. If this sounds like the third act of a Hollywood movie, it very well might become one.
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Betsy Manifold and Mark Rifkin, attorneys for the plaintiffs, were only given access to these files just three weeks ago.
1912 – The lyrics “Happy Birthday to You” are attached to the song as it spreads through schools. Hmmm. Here’s the image: Here’s a closeup of the title and the “blurred line” right beneath the title: The plaintiffs found this odd and went on a search for the original copy of the Everyday Song Book, finding the edition that was shown in the documents (the 15th edition) as well as a few earlier editions, and a much clearer version: From there, you can see that the “blurred” line says that the song is published via: Special permission through courtesy of The Clayton F Summy Co. The version of “Happy Birthday” Warner/Chappell owned the rights to was from 1935.
If this proposition is accepted by the judge, Warner/Chappell may lose out on a cash cow that is reported to reap $2 million a year in revenue.
Gromit’s card sang “Happy Birthday to You” in the film release of “The Wrong Trousers”, but was changed for the DVD release The melody for “Happy Birthday to You” is attributed to American sisters Patty and Mildred J.
Director Jennifer Nelson objected to Warner’s demand that she pay $1,500 to use the song, insisting that it was in the public domain. “It went viral and I never thought it would happen like this”, said Nelson in a speech previous year. Hill and Patty Smith Hill. Later, copyright registrations were made by Sumny’s company on “Happy Birthday“.
The dispute has gone on since then, bogged down by issues such as fraud and attorney-client privilege, The Hollywood Reporter reports. The song publisher said there was no such proof of that. Since a hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, it’s likely there will be some further developments in the case later this week.
Now, after two years of legal wrangling, lawyers for Miss Nelson say they have found a “smoking gun” which should resolve the case in their favour. The plaintiffs say that the newly discovered songbook evidence is so strong that the copyright abandonment issue is moot.
Randall Newman, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, says Warner/Chappell “should admit defeat but they won’t because too much money is at stake”.
Warner/Chappell has yet to respond to the latest evidence submitted to the United States District Court.
Now attorneys for Nelson’s Good Morning to You Productions have found a songbook from 1927 containing Happy Birthday, with no copyright notice – predating Warner Chappell’s copyright by eight years.
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This history is so complicated, in fact, that filmmakers making a documentary on the famed song have sued Warner/Chappell on the grounds that neither they nor anyone else should have to pay a license fee to use the classic for commercial purposes. The lyrics were: “Good morning to you / Good morning to you / Good morning, dear children / Good morning to all”.
